Mental Math Strategies – Math Games

Yesterday we began our first mental math strategy: Count on 1. Instead of using our fingers, a number line or counters to add, when we see or hear number sentences that ask for +1, we just THINK about the number that comes next if we count on.
We played a card game to start. In partners, one student holds up a card, and the other has to figure out what the answer would be if you added 1 to it. They had to count on 1 in their heads. The second game was with dice. It is the same as the card game but instead the first student had to roll a die.
After we practiced number sentences on the board and played our games, we became +1 experts. The 2Js put their knowledge and skills to work and completed an entire page of math questions focusing on the mental math strategy Count On 1. Check out the slide show below!